Near dawn, the Titan Apes' furious roars finally died down. Ethan and Chris slipped back into the valley.
With several mutant beasts standing guard, Sean and the others had actually gotten a solid night's sleep.
Besides, the mysterious energy in this place was thin, and the Nine-Star Dipper wasn't visible. Even if they tried that "stargazing to absorb energy" trick, it wouldn't amount to much here. Better to rest up and recover properly.
The moment Ethan and Chris returned, everyone hurried over.
"How'd it go,Ethan? Any good haul?"
"So-so." Ethan shook his head, not thrilled. "I got a few dozen Tier 8 and Tier 9 crystal cores. But once they started clustering up, it got hard to pick them off."
"I had it worse," Chris said with a bitter smile. "I only killed a little over ten. Spent the whole night getting chased by a huge pack of Titan Apes."
"…"
"So even ambush tactics aren't working anymore," someone sighed.
